Gannett reveals second-quarter earnings fall 5.2%, but 'pay-wall' helps drive 20% increase in digital revenue
Gannett’s second-quarter earnings fell 5.2 per cent to $113.6m, with the multimedia publisher as the broadcasting, digital and circulation revenue failed to offset the decline in publishing advertising sales.
Its adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share of 58 cents were in line with analysts' estimates and up from 56 cents a year ago.
Gannett, which owns 23 TV stations, USA Today and 81 other daily newspapers and websites, noted that its quarterly revenue sat at $1.3bn, no significant change from the previous year.
Publishing revenue was down 1.7 per cent to $904.2m while broadcasting revenue, primarily the TV stations, rose 3.2 per cent during the second quarter to $212m as core advertising revenues rose 1.5 per cent.
Operating revenue for Gannett's digital unit rose 2.9 per cent to $186.5m thanks to significant sales growth at its job site CareerBuilder.
Digital revenues, comprising both its publishing and broadcast units, amounted to $374.3m, up by over $60m from last year.
According to Gannett, its "pay wall" helped drive the 20.1 per cent increase in digital revenue.